Aaron Eckhart

"I think women can be as cruel as men, and men as tender as women, and vice versa." - Aaron Eckhart

Aaron Eckhart is best known as the doomed Gotham City mayor, Harvey Dent, in The Dark Knight. He's also vouched for nicotine in Thank You For Smoking, caught the eye of Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich and locked horns with Ben Affleck in Paycheck.

MAGNETISM

Aaron Eckhart isn't your typical Hollywood bachelor. He's far from a womanizer, even though his fame and movie-star looks could score him some big points. Aaron Eckhart's faith is what makes him different. A product of a deeply religious upbringing, Aaron Eckhart is a marriage-minded guy who wants to have a family. Imagine that! As a result, most of his relationships have remained private and away from prying paparazzi.

Aaron Eckhart hasn't found a wife yet, but he's come very close. He was engaged to Emily Cline, one of his costars from In the Company of Men. After they broke up, he hooked up with Kristyn Osborn of SHeDAISY for a serious two-year relationship. Since he and Kristyn parted ways, Aaron Eckhart has been linked to Jennifer Aniston, his costar in Traveling, but their coupling (if true) is being kept on the down low.

SUCCESS

Aaron Eckhart is the guy that audiences are always happy to see, even if they don't always recognize him by name. Aaron Eckhart's fame is still on the upswing, but his raw talent was immediate from the get-go. His turn as a first-class manipulator in 1997's In the Company of Men won Aaron an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance and a Satellite Award for Outstanding New Talent. He hasn't tasted Oscar yet, but Aaron Eckhart did garner a Golden Globe nomination for his bravura performance in 2005's Thank You for Smoking.

With lead roles in Smoking and No Reservations, Aaron Eckhart has the chops to top-line a film, but he isn't quite a box office draw just yet. In the meantime, Aaron Eckhart has leaned on the shoulders of his big name stars for that, including Jack Nicholson, Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck, to name a few. Aaron Eckhart's overall star power changed after audiences got a glimpse of him as Harvey "Two Face" Dent in The Dark Knight.

Aaron Eckhart Biography

Aaron Edward Eckhart was born on March 12, 1968, in Santa Clara County, California. The song of an author and a high-tech executive, Aaron and his two brothers split their childhood between England and Australia. Following high school, Aaron Eckhart spent three years in church missions and surfing before joining Brigham Young University, where he graduated in film. One of Aaron Eckhart's classmates at BYU was Neil LaBute, a playwright and aspiring filmmaker.

After graduating from BYU, Aaron Eckhart tried to make it into acting, but had middling success. His most notable credit was a guest-starring role on the short-lived 1996 TV series Aliens in the Family, a show that also featured guests like Hayden Panettiere and James Van Der Beek. Finally, in 1997, Aaron Eckhart got his first big break as a misogynistic manipulator in his old friend LaBute's much-ballyhooed debut film In the Company of Men. Aaron Eckhart won a Satellite Award and an Independent Spirit Award for his brave performance and established himself as a talent to watch.

aaron eckhart in erin brockovich and thank you for smoking

Aaron Eckhart became something of a good luck charm to Neil LaBute, who cast him in his subsequent films like Your Friends & Neighbors and Nurse Betty. This meant steady work for Aaron Eckhart on the indie circuit, but he also gained respect in the mainstream community as well. In 1999, Oliver Stone cast Aaron Eckhart as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons in Any Given Sunday. The following year, Aaron Eckhart was hand-picked to play the hunky biker boyfriend to Julia Roberts' high-powered lawyer role in Erin Brockovich.

Aaron Eckhart continued to work steadily in higher profile films, usually in key supporting roles behind bigger names. In 2003, he played a scientist trying to save the Earth alongside Hilary Swank in The Core and a villain trying to outsmart Ben Affleck's reverse-engineer in Paycheck. In 2005, Aaron Eckhart gained substantial critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination as a tobacco spin doctor in the satirical Thank You for Smoking. His engaging performance established him as leading man material and more prominent roles soon arrived.

aaron eckhart in no reservations and the dark knight

After starring in Smoking, Aaron Eckhart's transformation from reliable character actor into charismatic leading man took further strides. In 2006, Aaron Eckhart played a cop on the hunt for a notorious killer, alongside fellow detective Josh Hartnett in The Black Dahlia. Following a cameo in Nicolas Cage's The Wicker Man (another LaBute offering), Aaron Eckhart played a restaurant chef who romances his kitchen partner, Catherine Zeta-Jones, in No Reservations.

His dual role as Harvey Dent and Two Face in 2008's Batman sequel The Dark Knight thrilled audiences and gave Aaron Eckhart his most recognizable role to date, even if it involves some shocking makeup. Following that, he made Jennifer Aniston swoon in the romantic drama Traveling.